Varied Prevalence of Factor V G1691A (Leiden) and Prothrombin G20210A Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Among Arabs

Journal of Thrombosis and Thrombolysis 20(3), 163168, 2005.C 2005 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. Manufactured in The Netherlands.Varied Prevalence of Factor V G1691A (Leiden)

and Prothrombin G20210A Single Nucleotide

Polymorphisms Among ArabsWassim Y. Almawi,1,2 Sose H. Keleshian,2 Lobna

Borgi,3 Naglaa A. Fawaz,4 Nisreen Abboud,3 Nabil

Mtiraoui,3 and Touhami Mahjoub31Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Bahrain; 2Haigazian

University, Beirut, Lebanon; 3Faculty of Pharmacy, University

of Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia; 4Department of Hematology,

King Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi ArabiaIntroductionAbstract. Background: Factor V G1691A (FV-Leiden)

and prothrombin (PRT) G20210A single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are major inherited risk factors of

venous thromboembolism. In view of the heterogeneity

in their world distribution and lack of sufficient information about their distribution among Arabs, we addressed the prevalence of both SNPs in 4 distinct Arab

populations (Lebanon, Tunisia, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia).Methods: Study subjects comprised 698 Lebanese, 313

Tunisian, 194 Bahraini, and 149 Saudi Arabian healthy

subjects; genotyping was done by PCR-RFLP using Mnl

I and Hind III for FV-Leiden and PRT G20210A, respectively.Results: The prevalence of the mutant A alleles of

FV-Leiden and PRT G20210A were significantly higher

among Lebanese (0.0788 and 0.0136) and Tunisians(0.0351 and 0.0128), as compared to Bahraini (0.0155 and0.0052) and Saudi (0.0101 and 0.000) subjects. Higher

frequency of the FV-Leiden G/A and A/A genotypes

were seen in Lebanon (13.8 and 1.0%), followed by

Tunisia (5.8 and 0.6%), Bahrain (3.1 and 0.0%) and

Saudi Arabia ((2.0 and 0.0%). All PRT G20210A positive cases were in the heterozygote (G/A) state, and

these comprised 3.6% for Lebanon, 2.6% for Tunisia,1.0% for Bahrain. The carrier rate of FV-Leiden was

significantly higher among Lebanese compared to the

other populations ( p < 0.001), while the difference in

the prevalence of FV-Leiden between the other populations was not statistically different. With the exception of Lebanese-Saudi ( p= 0.038), the prevalence

of PRT G20210A was similar among the study communities. Furthermore, the overall average genetic

differentiation between populations (estimated with

the FST) was 0.0022 for FV-Leiden and 0.005 for PRT

G20210A.Conclusions: These results further confirm the heterogeneity in FV-Leiden and PRT G20210A distribution

among Arabs, and recommend potential institution of

prophylactic measures for carriers of either or both

SNPs.Key Words. APC resistance, factor V leiden, PCR,

prothrombin G20210A mutationVenous thrombosis (VTE) is a common multifactorial disease...